This section provides background information related to the present disclosure and is not necessarily prior art.
Opposed-piston, two-stroke engines include two pistons housed within a single cylinder that move in an opposed, reciprocal manner within the cylinder. In this regard, during one stage of operation, the pistons are moving away from one another within the cylinder. During another stage of operation, the pistons are moving towards one another within the cylinder.
As the pistons move towards one another within the cylinder, they compress and, thus, cause ignition of a fuel/air mixture disposed within the cylinder. In so doing, the pistons are forced apart from one another, thereby exposing inlet ports and outlet ports formed in the cylinder. Exposing the inlet ports draws air into the cylinder and expels exhaust, thereby allowing the process to begin anew.
When the pistons are forced apart from one another, connecting rods respectively associated with each piston transfer the linear motion of the pistons relative to and within the cylinder to one or more crankshafts associated with the connecting rods. The forces imparted on the crankshafts cause rotation of the crankshafts which, in turn, cause rotation of wheels of a vehicle in which the engine is installed.
Generally speaking, opposed-piston, two-stroke engines used in a vehicle include a bank of cylinders with each cylinder having a pair of pistons slidably disposed therein. While the engine may include any number of cylinders, the particular number of cylinders included is generally dictated by the type and/or required output of the vehicle. For example, in an automobile, fewer cylinders may be required when compared to a military vehicle such as a tank to properly propel and provide adequate power to the vehicle. Accordingly, an automobile may include an engine having four (4) cylinders and eight (8) pistons while a tank may include six (6) cylinders and twelve (12) pistons.
While conventional opposed-piston, two-stroke engines used in vehicles provide adequate power to the particular vehicle, such engines are often difficult to package within an engine compartment of the vehicle. Namely, the cylinders of conventional opposed-piston, two-cylinder engines are typically disposed along a single, longitudinal axis that passes through a center of each cylinder. While this arrangement does not hinder operation of the engine, the overall length of the engine is difficult to package within an engine compartment. Accordingly, the number and size of the cylinders in an opposed-piston, two-stroke engine is often limited by available packaging space within an engine compartment. As a result, use of such engines in vehicle applications is not widespread.